In Portuguese, the bird is called jabiru, jaburu, tuiuiu, tuim-de-papo-vermelho ("red-necked tuim", in Mato Grosso) and cauauá (in the Amazon Basin). The name tuiuiu is also used in southern Brazil for the Wood Stork (Mycteria americana).

Description

The Jabiru is the tallest flying bird found in South America and Central America, often standing around the same height as the flightless and much heavier American Rhea. The adult Jabiru is typically 122-140 cm (48-55 in), 230-280 cm (90-111 in) across the wings, and weigh to 8 kg (17.6 lbs). The larger males may stand as tall as 1.5 m (5 feet). The beak, up to 30 cm (1 ft) long, is black and broad, slightly upturned, ending in a sharp point. The plumage is mostly white, but the head and upper neck are featherless and black, with a featherless red stretchable pouch at the base. The sexes are similar, although the female is usually smaller than the male. While it is an ungainly bird on the ground, the Jabiru is a powerful and graceful flier.

Habits

The Jabiru lives in large groups near rivers and ponds, and eats prodigious quantities of fish, mollusks, and amphibians. It will occasionally eat reptiles and small mammals. It will even eat fresh carrion and dead fish, such as those that die during dry spells, and thus help maintain the quality of isolated bodies of water.

The nest of twigs is built by both parents around August–September (in the southern hemisphere) on tall trees, and enlarged at each succeeding season growing to several meters in diameter. Half a dozen nests may be built in close proximity, sometimes among nests of herons and other birds. The parents take turns incubating the clutch of 2 to 5 white eggs.

References

Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

Walsh, Stig A. & Sánchez, Rodolfo (2005): Long legged South American birds and the first avian fossils from Venezuela. Presentation at The Palaeontological Association 49th Annual Meeting. PDF abstract